Bill No.:
SF0054 Drafter:
DRN
LSO No.: 08LSO-0073 Effective Date:
Enrolled Act No.: SEA0036
Chapter No.:
Prime Sponsor: Management Council
Catch Title: School finance-rebated recapture.
Subject: The legislation was prepared to
address implementation of 2006 Constitutional Amendment "B", which
dealt with the elimination of "rebated recapture". Rebated recapture
was a feature of school finance which "rebated" revenues
"recaptured" from school districts in excess of a specified
threshold. Rebated recapture amounts subsequent to adoption of the 2006
Constitutional amendment are currently being litigated.
Summary/Major Elements:
- Conforms existing statutory provisions to reflect
the voter approved constitutional amendment (approved in the November 2006
general election);
- Expresses continuing legislative intent that the
amendment of November 2006 is the supreme law of the state on this issue
and supersedes any pre-existing statutory language to the contrary;
- Expresses continuing legislative intent that the
amendment of November, 2006 ended the practice of rebated recapture on the
effective date of the amendment (as certified on 11/15/06);
- Requires the districts to thoroughly account to
the Department of Education for all rebated recapture funds they have used
in their own budgeting processes for school years 2006/2007 and 2007/2008;
- Districts are not required to "repay"
to the state the amounts of rebated recapture funds they have used in
their own budgeting processes. Those funds are the subject of ongoing
litigation. Rather, the bill establishes a process whereby the amounts of
rebated recapture funds within their budget are reported to the Department
of Education, for subsequent referral to the Joint Appropriations
Committee and the Joint Education Committee;
- "Closes the window" on the issue
subject to litigation (effective for the next school budgeting cycle commencing
summer 2008) that statutory authority and a school district's obligation
to budget in June and July supersedes the repeal of rebated recapture;
- Maintains the position the State of Wyoming has taken in the ongoing litigation that the Constitutional amendment was
self-executing.